Working on getting the engine stuff finished up today, found a Mopar "re-manufactured parts" sticker on the bottom of the block by the oil pan. Turns out my engine is a factory Mopar long block replaced in April 2008. I ran the part number, they get $4200 bucks for a long block. Guess this means I dont have 146,000 mile motor. Wonder if the replacement would show up in a carfax report so I could figure out how many miles it has.
[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 05-25-2013).]
------------------ Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six. (84 IMSA) garage queen (13 Veloster) daily grinder (06 solstice) my vert Fiero (00 jeep wrangler) fun in the mud. The forums Youngest CDL driver
Getting closer to done, today was all about getting the engine ready to back in the car. I installed a new set of plugs and a PCV valve, and cleaned the throttle body. Chrysler recommends a 100,000 mile interval for timing belt/waterpump, and since I didn't know the service history I decided to replace both. I'm glad I did, the pump had been leaking and the bearing was so loose that the impeller was rubbing on the housing.
While installing the exhaust manifolds, I had a bolt pull the threads out of the head. After looking at the rest of the holes, I found the threads mucked up in almost all of them. I decided to just TimeSert all 12 of them just to avoid any future issues.
Stripped hole:
Fixed:
Engine is finished and ready to go back in the car.
Have to finish the deck lid hinge modification tomorrow and hopefully install the engine too. It's getting close.....I can't wait!
[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 10-02-2023).]
Saturday was a very productive day, I finished my trunk lid hinge modification. I want to say a big "THANK YOU!" to fieroguru for the posting the hinge mods and the dimensions of the new plate, it saved me a bunch of time R&D time. The only change I made was the spacer, fg used aluminum, I couldn't find any 1/4" aluminum on a Sunday of a holiday weekend so I used high density polyethylene plastic (a $5.95 kitchen cutting board from FleetFarm).
So here we go.....the engine is complete and ready for its new home.
Installation was a bit of a pain, the fully dressed engine is a tight squeeze in the Fiero engine compartment, especially with all of the plumbing and wiring installed. But with a little help from the neighbor, and a few curse words, IT"S IN!!! Almost everything is hooked up with just a couple battery cables to run from the front of the car. So if I built my wiring harness right and was successful in bypassing the immobilizer, it should run today sometime (fingers crossed).
Here are a few pics of the engine in it's new home:
[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 10-02-2023).]
Seeing that Prowler-like engine in the back of a Fiero makes me smile.
What surprised me is that engine for some reason seems to be an even tighter fit within the rear decklid compartnent of a Fiero than it is within the narrow, rather pointed, front-engine compartment of a Prowler.
In either case, that engine probably could stand a bit of "bling" --- be it the aftermarket Prowler parts I'd suggested at the bottom of the previous e-page on this forum, or what I think is the engine cover you've mentioned from the same aftermarket Prowler engine parts source I'd suggested. The latter is appealing, but I'd investigate beforehand if you've enough under-the-decklid clearance for it.
That aside, seeing your Prowler-like engine in the back of your Fiero just makes me smile.
I love the that hinge mod too! If you go to the 30th, track down Jefrysuko and buy him a beverage of his choice, as it was his original idea (at the 25th), I just made it happen and showed how I did it.
[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 05-27-2013).]
Had a problem with the immobilizer at first because I had the key in the wrong place relative to the antenna. I got that sorted out and she fired right up an purred like a kitten. Well, more like a lion because I'm only running the catalytic converters right now. I need to fill and burp the cooling system yet and take care of a couple odds n ends and then I will post a video.
So when do I drop off my new 86GT for you to do this to?
Oh Jesus! I think doing another one of these swaps would result in: A) my commitment to a mental health facility B) a messy divorce C) Both
I was having a beer(s) last night and thinking about the project and how much I grossly underestimated the amount of work was going to be to complete an original swap. I think my baby is going to remain the only one.
Edit: It's nice to see your old avitar back. That is one of my favorite south park episodes.
[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 05-28-2013).]
WOW!!!! Even without mufflers it sounds great. About half way through my Diablo kit car build I was saying the same thing about how much more work it was going to be and swore I would never do another one. But now that its pretty much finished Im already on the look out for another one and "IF" I find another kit car project I will seriously consider this drivetrain you installed in your Fiero..
Great work! Looking forward to seeing more updates~
[This message has been edited by diabloroadster (edited 05-30-2013).]
I like the sound it makes when the engine is cranking, it doesn't sound like a Fiero.
Worked til after midnight trying to get 'er done for the weekend. Underhood is done, engine compartment is done, battery is mounted, interior is 60% installed. Bolted the driver's seat back in at the end of the night and sat in my car for the first time since November..... sure feels good to be back in the saddle.
Exactly 212 days ago I rolled my baby into the garage for a heart transplant. Tonight she emerged reborn!
I've been really pushing it the last couple of weeks to get this project finished and back on the road. There have been some late nights and lots of head scratching trying to figure out where I put some of the pieces I took off 7 months ago. One of the last items was to install the rear wheels. My electric impact decided to quit working at that point so I put the lug nuts on and tightened them by hand with the intent to torque them once the wheels were on the ground. Well, I had a little trouble getting the car down off of the jack stands, so by the time I accomplished that task and rolled the car out of the garage, I kinda forgot about the plan to torque the lugs. So down the road I go with my neighbor in the passenger seat, totally oblivious to the danger brewing just a few feet behind me. Well.......I remembered the plan just after the left rear wheel came off.
Luckily I was only going about 25mph and was close to home. There was a little damage (scrapes) to the wheel and no body damage. My pride on the other hand....... Got the wheel back on and the lug nuts properly torqued and it was time for the maiden voyage (part 2).
I was taking it a bit easy at first, just seeing how things were, I was a bit unsure how the axles would behave with the offset I am running. The autostick feature is pretty fun, and my home made paddle shifters work great. Everything seemed to be going good so I decided to open her up a bit. This engine pulls hard and smooth all the way through the RPM range. The exhaust got pretty loud under heavy acceleration so I didn't make too many runs. I hope to get an exhaust system done next week and put a bunch more miles on it. The TorquePro app does 0-60 times, etc, so I will be trying that out too.
[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 10-02-2023).]
I kinda forgot about the plan to torque the lugs. So down the road I go with my neighbor in the passenger seat, totally oblivious to the danger brewing just a few feet behind me. Well.......I remembered the plan just after the left rear wheel came off.
Oopsie.
Glad you didn't screw anything up (besides your pride).
Thanks for all the compliments This was a lot of work and I'm glad it turned out as good as it did.
I knew had a few bugs to figure out before I drove it, and my driving it around yesterday revealed a couple more. When I first started the engine, I had a check engine light on. A quick check for codes revealed a "fan 2 ckt open/shorted" code. The Chrysler had 2 cooling fans and the Fiero only 1, so I used the fan 1 circuit to run the cooling fan and taped the fan 2 wire into the harness just in case. As it turns out, the PCM monitors the resistance of the circuit, and the lack of a fan 2 relay set a fault code. So I will need to wire in a relay to give the PCM something to look at.
The other issue was that the PCM was commanding both fan relays ON whenever the engine was running, even when the coolant was cold. A quick review of the service manual gave me a few options as to why this would be. Turns out the lack of the A/C pressure transducer was causing the PCM to default the fans ON. I'm not running the Chrysler A/C system because of all the computer controls, but I'm going to have to wire in the transducer to make the fan work correctly. This is a great example of why you should never toss out any parts until the job is completely finished. I kept the transducer and the wiring connector. I temped it in and started the engine and now the fan works as it should, ON at 213 deg and OFF at 206.
Transducer temporarily wired in place to test fan operation:
My RR caliper developed a leak from the e-brake lever shaft, just from sitting on the shelf. I found out that 88 front calipers will go on the rear, and I'm not running an e-brake so I bought a pair of NOS GM front calipers from calipersonline.com. I hope to see them mid-week, until the the car is grounded.
The drive revealed a coolant leak from my radiator plug. The Chrysler uses a coolant tank by the engine so the overflow in front needed to go. The problem was the radiator cap was trying to vent and the plug I clamped over the radiator outlet couldn't hold the pressure and it leaked coolant everywhere. After a little head scratching, I decided on plugging the hole with a brass screw JB welded and nutted in place. I ground down the head of a flat head screw to clear the cap. Top it off with a rubber cap and it looks good.
The other drive issue is a shake on hard acceleration. This may be a product of the offset angle I'm running on the axles, or maybe one of the joints I got at the pick-n-pull is bad. I think this one will be ongoing, I plan on driving it and just see what happens.
[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 10-02-2023).]
